Macworld Magazine/MacCentral Move To IDG

By Bryan Chaffin

Oct 9th, 2001 5:00 PM EDT

Mac Publishing, LLC, will be moving to a new house. The publishers of Macworld Magazine and MacCentral.com are now the sole property of IDG, which publish many tech-oriented books as well as being the trade show organizers of such industry events as MACWORLD Expo San Francisco and New York. Mac Publishing used to be the joint property of IDG and Ziff Davis and was formed when those two publishing giants merged their Mac properties, including MacWeek, MacUser, and Macworld Magazine. Macworld and MacUser was merged into a single magazine called Macworld, MacWeek was changed into eMedia Weekly, and was eventually killed. MacWeek.com was shuttered earlier this year. Mac Publishing also bought MacCentral in 1999, and closely aligned its operations with Macworld.com when MacWeek was closed.

International Data Group (IDG) today announced it has become the sole owner of Mac Publishing, LLC, previously a joint venture between IDG and Ziff Davis Media Inc.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Mac Publishing publishes Macworld magazine, the worldis leading independent Macintosh publication as well as Macworld.com and MacCentral.com on the Web. As producer of the Mac communityis flagship events, Macworld Conference & Expo, this acquisition makes IDG the worldis largest source of targeted information for the Macintosh industry.

"The decision to fully incorporate the Mac Publishing properties into our established global Macworld product line reflects IDGis commitment to the Mac market, our belief in its future, and our strategy of delivering our content across print, online and event platforms," said Kelly Conlin, IDG president and CEO. "IDG advertisers will benefit by having access to over 2.5 million of the industryis most influential Macintosh buyers through IDGis Macworld products in 11 countries worldwide."

"IDG has demonstrated consistent commitment to the Apple marketplace since the early 80s, providing information on the Apple II market," stated Colin Crawford, President and CEO of Mac Publishing. "Given IDGis continued dedication to this market, Iim extremely pleased to be able to bring the Macworld publication back to the IDG family."

IDG was the first media company to recognize the potential of the Macintosh platform: Macworld magazine was founded by IDG Founder and Chairman, Patrick McGovern in conjunction with the first public unveiling of the Macintosh platform in 1984. Today, Macworld continues to reach the largest, most influential universe of active Macintosh buyers.

Produced by IDG World Expo, this yearis Macworld Conference & Expo in New York attracted record-breaking crowds of over 64,000 attendees and proved to be a valuable event for exhibitors in terms of attendee traffic and press attention. Mac enthusiasts are already looking forward to the January 2002 shows in San Francisco, CA and Japan.